Page 86 of Fifth Avenue Devil

“Nate, I wouldn’t lie to you. I love you.”

“I can’t sit here and listen to you lie to me. I’m done.” I cross my arms, my heart thudding painfully in my chest. “Here’s what is going to happen, Annalise. I’m going to make a very, very lowball offer to buy Gellar Industries. And you’re going to take it.”

"You would buy Gellar Industries? We’re already merging! Why would you want to buy a company with so much liability?" she chokes out.

“Because I can take the lab employees and their work product. When I buy the company out, they and their work become part of ViaLife. Everything else gets scrapped.”

Her eyes bug out. "You can't be serious!"

"Deadly serious," I reply, smirking at her reaction. "Your father approached me about the acquisition, Annalise. He wanted me to take over and clean up this mess. What do you have to say about that?"

Her eyes flash with betrayal. Her delicate hands bunch at her sides. "My father? You expect me to believe that he would willingly hand over his life's work to you? He despises you!"

"Believe what you want," I sneer. "But I'm telling the truth."

"Truth!" she scoffs, finally regaining her composure. "How can I trust anything that comes out of your mouth, Nate? My dad doesn’t believe in doing serious business over the phone. Which means you snuck off to see him without telling me. Hejustwoke up from a coma, for god’s sake! You were talking business with him on his sickbed?"

My temper flares up like a hungry lion escaping its cage. "Look who's talking," I spit out. "Where did the money go, Annalise? Because it certainly looks like you embezzled it."

"Are you really accusing me of stealing from my own company?" she hisses.

"Convince me otherwise," I challenge.

Our faces are mere inches apart. The heat between us grows with each angry breath we take. Her eyes lock onto mine and she jabs a finger into my chest. "You are so arrogant. I can’t believe I thought I was in love with you!”

My heart goes cold. I glare at Annalise. “You are a manipulative witch,” I hiss. “And if it’s not clear, we are over.”

“God, Nate!” Annalise's lips quiver. She screws up her face. She seems like she is seconds away from bursting into tears. Then again, what do I know? She’s obviously been working me since we met. "I don’t know who stole the money. Maybe my dad, maybe our VP…"

I bleat a surprised laugh. "Of course you'd say that. Your dad makes a perfect scapegoat."

She pins me with a desperate look. "I didn't even work for the company when the money started going missing. I was a little kid then. I swear I’m innocent."

"Then how could you keep something so important a secret from me?" I bellow. It's hard to believe that someone as intelligent and resourceful as Annalise wouldn't have known about her father's indiscretions.

"Because it was my family's fuck up," she replies defensively. "I wanted to fix it myself. I wanted to prove that I can be a real CEO."

“Don’t make me laugh. You’re complicit in this, Annalise. The FTC is going to rake me over the coals just for being mixed up with you. You might be going tojail, sweetheart.”

Annalise’s jaw drops. “I didn’t do anything wrong!”

“Tell it to somebody who cares. Preferably a very expensive lawyer.”

The defiant fire in Annalise's eyes burns into me. She straightens her spine and waves an angry hand in my face.

"Enough! I've had enough of being controlled!" she yells. "First my dad. Then you. I won't let either of you dictate what I do with my life."

I arch a brow. “What are you going to do? Quit?”

"Maybe that's exactly what I need to do.” Her eyes never leave mine. "Maybe it's time for me to forge my own path. I’m sick of men trying to exploit me and use me as a pawn in their sick little games."

I throw down a gauntlet so casually and icily that I barely sound like myself. “Once you leave this office, there's no coming back."

“I'm done with Gellar Industries.” Her eyes promise that I’m going to feel pain. “And I'm done with you."

"Where are you going to go? Your dad is the one who sold you out."

“No.” Annalise’s mouth twists with aggravation. “You did that all on your own.”

---